Town Leadership
The Ashburnham Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
John Coderre
When a road goes unplowed or a permit stalls, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. John Coderre is the Town Administrator, hired by the three elected members of the Select Board to run Ashburnham day to day, and they can let him go if they lose faith in him. Understanding the office is really understanding one split: the Select Board decides WHAT the town will do, and the Town Administrator decides HOW it gets done. The board sets policy in public votes; the administrator turns those votes into staffing, contracts, schedules, and spending.
The job has real levers. The administrator is the town’s chief administrative officer, which means most department heads report to him and he appoints and supervises them under the authority the Select Board delegates. He is the town’s budget author: each winter he builds the spending plan department by department, weighs the requests against the money the town actually has, and presents a single proposed budget to the Select Board. But he cannot enact a dollar of it. In an open Town Meeting town, the budget he writes is only a recommendation until the registered voters in the hall vote it, line by line, and Town Meeting can cut a number the administrator and the board both wanted. He also runs procurement, oversees the town’s contracts and personnel, and represents Ashburnham in the daily business of grants, state agencies, and shared services.
For a resident, that makes his office the first door for most problems that are not purely a school matter or a police call. A pothole, a water bill, a permit question, or a complaint about a town service starts here, because these are questions of administration rather than policy. When a problem does need a policy change, the administrator is the person who can put it on the Select Board’s agenda and, if the board agrees, help draft the warrant article that carries it to Town Meeting. Coderre is appointed under contract and serves at the pleasure of the board, so the ultimate check on the office is the three people you elect to hire and hold him.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 32 Main Street, Ashburnham, MA 01430 |
| Phone | 978-827-4100 |
| Website | ashburnham-ma.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, public works, health, the library, and the rest answer up to the Town Administrator, who appoints and supervises most of their leaders.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Town Administrator proposes how the town will spend its money, then defends that plan before the Select Board and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Answers to the board. The Town Administrator serves at the pleasure of the elected Select Board and carries out the policies it sets.
- Reports to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Ashburnham that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads are appointed by the Town Administrator and carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting a new building.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can release the Town Administrator, sets policy, and signs the warrants that put questions before Town Meeting.
- Boards and commissions, many of them appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 32 Main Street, Ashburnham, MA 01430.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 978-827-4100.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights, and downed limbs go to the Department of Public Works.
- Show up: the Select Board meets on the first and third Monday evenings of most months at the Public Safety Building, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.
MassCivics last checked this page on September 14, 2026.